Amstutz says Ohio House leadership decisions could be made 'fairly soon' (with videos)

Tuesday

Jul 30, 2013 at 4:00 AM

By Marc Kovak | R-C Capital Bureau

COLUMBUS - A frontrunner to become the next Speaker of the Ohio House said the leadership race could be resolved in short order.

Rep. Ron Amstutz (R-Wooster), current chairman of the chamber's powerful finance committee, said it's early in the process, with Bill Batchelder (R-Medina) expected to continue as head of the House until the end of his final term next year.

The filing deadline for House races isn't until February, and the full impact of those candidacies won't materialize until after next year's general election in November.

"We don't even know who some of the players are going to be in some of these races," Amstutz said. But Amstutz also isn't hiding his interest in the post.

"Certain dynamics developed, not by me, produced a lot of discussions, and I am seriously pursuing the speakership," he told reporters Monday during a stop at the Ohio State Fair, where he attended a joint hearing of the House and Senate agriculture committees. "That's something the team has to work out."

Amstutz and Rep. Cliff Rosenberger (R-Clarksville) are the latest lawmakers named among the top contenders for the position. Rosenberger, a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, is in his second term in the legislature.

Amstutz has served in the Ohio House and Senate for more than three decades and is eligible to run for one more term in the Ohio House.

Amstutz said he thinks leadership decisions could be made in "fairly soon," within "weeks."

"Sooner's better," Amstutz said. "I've said that publicly and I continue to say that because it's the truth. If we go very long on this, it will be detrimental to the good policy work that we need to do, Medicaid included especially, and it will be detrimental to out ability to do good strong campaign development."

Marc Kovac is the Dix Capital Bureau Chief. Email him at mkovac@dixcom.com or on Twitter at OhioCapitalBlog.